Following certain surgical procedures, the patient is required to lay face down in a substantially prone position. For example, during retinal reattachment surgery, a gas bubble is introduced into the eye. The bubble serves, inter alia, to promote proper healing by keeping vitreous cavity fluid substantially away from the macular region or other retinal defects during the healing process, however, the patient must remain in a face down position to maintain the bubble against the retina in the back of the eye. The gas bubble is slowly absorbed into the bloodstream as the retinal defects heal, which typically takes between 3 days to 3 weeks but can take even longer in certain cases. During this time, the patient is required to maintain a face down position during the entire absorption period, even while sleeping. Failure to maintain a face down position can lead to improper retinal healing and/or retinal re-detachment. Further, should the gas bubble come in contact with the lens of the eye, it may lead to lens opacity or cataract. Any of these complications may require surgery to correct or may even lead to blindness. Thus, it is imperative that the patient comply with the requirement of maintaining a face down position during the gas absorption period of the healing process.
However, lying or sitting in a face down position for an extended period of time becomes quite uncomfortable and can strain the back and neck muscles. Various devices exist which are designed to support an individual in a substantially face down or prone position, such as devices used in massage therapy, but these are typically designed for short term use only. For example, prior art devices designed to support a person's upper body typically support the person in the chest and shoulder regions. This can become quite uncomfortable because it restricts the person's chest and breathing, and requires intransigent shoulder placement. Other prior art devices for the most part comprise a donut-shaped pillow for receiving the face of a person therein. In these devices, the internal border of the pillow tends to press against the periphery of the eye region of the person's face. In the case of retinal re-attachment surgery, the eye region of the patient is traumatized and very sensitive, and the patient is usually directed to maintain a protective covering over the eye even while sleeping. As a result, these donut-shaped pillows are typically quite uncomfortable to the patient and may even be harmful. Further, the hole in these donut-shaped devices can cause claustrophobia and restricted breathing when used for prone positioning, leading to what has been reasonably described as "tyranny of the hole". Since a patient will require sleep throughout the gas absorption period, which may last up to several weeks, the support system must be comfortable or the patient will abandon the face down position while sleeping without being consciously aware of it.
Other shortcomings seen in prior art devices include designs which are not easily adaptable to support individuals of various shapes and sizes, and no adequate support devices exist which can be conveniently transferred between different horizontal environments, such as from a bed to a table. Moreover, these prior art devices are not true support "systems" since they have limited positioning and are not adequately adjustable to achieve the broad range of positioning required to support individuals of various shapes and sizes in a variety of body orientations. Since the ability to comfortably sit or lie down in a face down position is a key feature to promote compliance with any prone positioning requirement, what is needed is a head and upper body support system which overcomes the shortcomings in the prior art and which addresses the particular needs of a person required to maintain a facial prone position for prolonged periods.